START Seminar — Class Summaries for Spring 2017

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Click on a week for the lecture summaries:

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Notes from previous START Seminars: Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013 and Fall 2012.

16–20 January 2017 [Week 1]

Our first meeting this semester will be held on Monday, 16 January 2017.

This semester we will focus on interviewing skills (cover letters, list of professional references, interviews, and supplemental video interview) and poster production (using Illustrator), literature review (key papers regarding poster topic). In addition, we will write essays for JSC scholarships.

All presentations in this class will use the Assertion-Evidence model (see the following two sites about the design of PowerPoint slides):

• A video by Michael Alley regarding PowerPoint presentations.
• A web site by Michael Alley entitled "Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: The Assertion-Evidence Structure"

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Assignment (due 23 Jan 2017): JSC Scholarships

Please send a .pdf attachment to a properly written email that has your name, title, date, and list of the several scholarships to which you will apply for later this semester. For each scholarship include one sentence (or more) of why you qualify for the scholarship.

23–27 January 2017 [Week 2]

Assignment (due 30 Jan 2017): Resource paper

Identify the resource paper that will be used for your poster presentations and add it to the list of resources posted at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vDplLe0_H0VQyERud8LivOCM6c5GmpVuK3le-nnLsMk/edit?usp=sharing

Use the following example as a format:

Leslie Kanat on Effective Posters

Colin Purrington, 2016. Designing Conference Posters. Retrieved on 22 January 2017 from http://colinpurrington.com/tips/poster-design.

Start saving high-resoultion images for use with the posters. Name the image file such that it can easily be identified with a citation.

Assignment (due 30 Jan 2017): Scholarship Letter (first draft)

Please submit a printed version of the letter to be submitted for JSC Scholarships.

Go to the JSC Current Student Scholarships page and login.

30 January–3 February 2017 [Week 3]

Update the Google Docs page with the resource paper for each presentation.

Work with Illustrator.

The Johnson State College logo colors:

Many of the logos required for this work are found at S:\Environment and Health Science\logo

6–10 February 2017 [Week 4]

We will have dinner with President Collins on a Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. when the weather is more moderate; a definitive date later.

We will schedule a visit to UVM on a Thursday to practice interviewing for medical school and jobs in medicine (to return to JSC by 10:00 a.m.); more details later.

We learned how to use quotes (" ") and the dash (-) when using search engines.

Assignment (due 6 March 2017): Video interview

Video interviews allow an employer to learn something about you that may not be asked in a standard job application or in a typical interview.

• In one to two minutes, describe what an employer should know about you that may not be asked in a standard job application or in a typical interview.
• Use a talking-head style of video with no other people present.
• You may use notes, but you may not use a script.
• Choose a perspective and setting that represents your style.
• Create your own Youtube channel and upload your video to that site. Disable comments, do not allow the video to be searchable by keywords, and give rights to those who know the URL of the video.
• Share the Youtube link with me via a well-written email.

13–17 February 2017 [Week 5]

The college closed due to a snow event, so class was canceled.

20–24 February 2017 [Week 6]

Winter Break — be careful.

27 February–3 March 2017 [Week 7]

Work with Illustrator.

6–10 March 2017 [Week 8]

Heather's presentation and work with Illustrator.

13–17 March 2017 [Week 9]

Limited work with Illustrator.

6–10 March 2017 [Week 10]

Work with Illustrator.

Assignment (due Thursday, 30 April 2017 by 5:00 p.m.): First draft of poster

• Submit .pdf file of poster attached to a well-written email (use File > Print > .pdf rather than 'save as' .pdf).
• Size: 36"x44" in landscape format; three to four columns; font: 36 point text and figure captions.
• Include at least four very high quality, informative, figures and at least four solid references (follow the figure caption and citation guidelines).
• Use a light or white background, and the JSC colors.
• Carefully align all objects on the page.
• Include the JSC and START logos.
• Be sure the thesis is clearly stated and placed appropriately.
• Write clearly, use the active voice, and use appropriate symbols.
• Look at the following four links regarding posters (also available on the Writing Guidelines page):

  Effective posters
  Designing conference posters
  Example of a bad scientific poster
  Poster and presentation resources

27–31 March 2017 [Week 11]

3–7 April 2017 [Week 12]

Spring Break — be careful.

10–14 April 2017 [Week 13]

Get involved, join us at one of the following events:

The Science March on 22 April 2017 in Burlington, at https://marchforsciencevt.wordpress.com/

The People's Climate March on 29 April 2017 in Montpelier, at https://actionnetwork.org/events/peoples-climate-march-vermont

Telling Your Story, from PCM Arts, at
https://arts.peoplesclimate.org/telling-your-story/

 

Assignment: Final draft of posters (must be printed by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, 20 April 2016).

17–21 April 2017 [Week 14]

Assignment: use Illustrator to make posters for the Science March (11"x17").

What slogans can you come up with? See examples of some posters from the American Geophysical Union:

STARTers dinner at the Presidents home at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, 20 April 2016.

24–28 April 2017 [Week 15]

Assignment: use Illustrator to make posters for the Climate March (11"x17").

Please click here to complete the 'Assessment of Academic Opportunities and Support Structures for Math and Science Students'.

Join us at the Vermont People's Climate March Solidarity Rally in Montpelier, VT on 29 April 2017 at 1:00 p.m.

1–5 May 2017 [Week 16]

**

Final Exam: Monday, 8 May 2017 at 4:00 p.m.

Upcoming Conferences

Research on Adaptation to Climate Change Student Research Symposium
9^th Annual Meeting
Grand Maple Ballroom at the University of Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
28 March 2017
http://epscor.w3.uvm.edu/2/node/1227
(Expected to attend: Les, Amanda, and ?)

North American Symposium on Landslides
3^rd Annual Meeting
Roanoke, VA
4-8 June 2017
http://www.aegweb.org/mpage/nasl17m
(Expected to attend: Les and ?)

Past Conferences for the 2016/2017 Academic Year

2016 Annual Water Quality Conference
5^th Annual Meeting
VT Technical College
Randolph, VT
8 June 2016
http://www.vectogether.org/vec-events/spring-conference/
(Expected to attend: no one)

Geological Society of America
128^th Annual Meeting
Denver, Colorado
25 - 28 September 2016
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2016/
(Expected to attend: no one)

New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference
106^th Annual Meeting
Brunswick-Waldoboro area of the Maine coast
14 - 16 October 2016
http://w3.salemstate.edu/~lhanson/NEIGC/Conference.html
(Expected to attend: no one)

Norris Cotton Cancer Center's 2^nd Annual Student Oncology Conference
Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock
1 Medical Center Drive
Lebanon, NH 03756
23 October 2016
Paula.Therrien@dartmouth.edu
(Attended: Brynn and Kasie)

World Congress on Undergraduate Research
First Annual Meeting
Qatar University
Doha, Qatar
13 - 15 November 2016
http://www.cur.org/world_congress/
(Attended: Liz, Heather, Shayna and Shavonna)

The New England Association of Environmental Biologists
41^st Annual Meeting
Hilton Hartford Hotel
Hartford, CT
14-16 March 2017
http://www.neaeb.org/#about-us
(Expected to attend: Heather)